MANILA, Philippines - The series of quakes that rattled parts of Batangas and nearby parts of Luzon over the weekend is not a precursor to “The Big One,” a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that will soon jolt areas covered by the West Valley Fault and is estimated to take the lives of 34,000 people and injure 100,000 others.

Dispelling rumors that spread on social media after a fault in Mabini, Batangas moved and caused multiple quakes, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) director Renato Solidum clarified that the series of earthquakes will not trigger a movement in West Vally Fault, which is considered “ripe” for a major earthquake.

A series of earthquakes at magnitudes 5.6 and 6.0 struck Mabini, Batangas on Saturday afternoon at around 3:07 p.m. This was followed by a magnitude 5.0 earthquake that jolted Taysan, Batangas 20 minutes later.

More temblors in the coming days

More temblors will be experienced in the next few days following the series of tremors in Batangas last weekend, according to Solidum.

In his interview with ANC’s “Dateline Philippines,” Solidum explained that the multiple quakes are part of a “swarm” that can last for days.

“Well an earthquake swarm can last for days or even weeks so there can still be earthquakes in the next few days,” Solidum said.